An Italian artist has successfully sold what he calls an "invisible sculpture" for €14,820 (approximately $15,000) at auction, sparking widespread discussion about the boundaries of contemporary art. The artwork, which exists only as a conceptual piece, comes with a certificate of authenticity and is marked by a simple white square of tape on the ground measuring 1.5 square meters.
The piece, titled "Io Sono" ("I Am" in Italian), was created by 67-year-old Salvatore Garau, a former student of the Florence Academy of Fine Arts who has become one of Italy's most renowned contemporary artists. Originally estimated to sell for between €6,000 and €9,000, the invisible sculpture exceeded expectations when it was auctioned on May 18, 2021, fetching over €5,000 more than the highest estimate. The sale was conducted by the prestigious Milanese art house Art-Rite, with the only tangible proof of the artwork's existence being an official certificate, an invoice worth thousands of euros, and the white square marking its theoretical location.
This is not Garau's first venture into invisible art. The artist has previously installed other conceptual pieces in prominent locations, including "Buddha in Contemplation" on the grand plaza in front of La Scala opera house in Milan. Like his auction piece, this work was invisible to viewers and marked only by adhesive tape on the ground. In New York, Garau placed a hoop on the cobblestones in front of the Federal Hall National Memorial to indicate the presence of his piece "Aphrodite Weeping," another work that, by its very nature, poses no obstruction to building access.
These invisible works are part of a larger ambitious project by Garau: a collection of seven immaterial artworks. Four pieces remain to be created, leaving art enthusiasts curious about what the artist has imagined for these future "imaginary" creations. According to Garau, creating invisible sculptures represents "the perfect metaphor for the era we are living in." He philosophically explains his approach by asking, "After all, don't we shape a God that we have never seen?"
While this artistic approach may surprise the general public, it fits within a well-established tradition of contemporary art. The conceptual art movement, which emerged in the 1960s, prioritizes ideas and concepts over material objects. Artists in this movement often created works in the form of protocols or instructions, allowing others to reproduce the artistic act. As early as 1958, Yves Klein, famous for his signature "Klein Blue," organized exhibitions of invisible works, paving the way for this form of artistic expression. The Centre Pompidou in Paris embraced this concept by hosting Danish artist Jeppe Hein's "Invisible Labyrinth" in 2005, and four years later, the Parisian institution dedicated a retrospective exhibition to empty rooms in contemporary art, further legitimizing this artistic approach in major cultural institutions worldwide.
